South Florida Crime

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The teen accused of accidentally shooting and killing a girl on a private school bus November 20th will be under house arrest until his next court date in January.

Jordyn Howe, 15, was not in court Thursday, but the family of the 13-year-old girl he’s charged with killing hung on the judge’s every word.

“It’s not easy,” Ady DeJesus said of life without her daughter Lourdes. “I’m just trying to cope day-by-day.”

DeJesus held hands with her loved ones and teared up while listening to the proceedings.

“He’s going to be placed on home detention with electronic monitor,” Judge Richard Hersch said.

Howe has been held in juvenile detention since the shooting. He had to surrender his passport and be fitted with an electronic monitoring device as a condition of his release.

“Home detention is to allow additional time for the State Attorney’s Office to fully investigate and determine what if any charges they’re going forward with and in which form you’re going forward with,” the judge explained.

After the short hearing, the family of the 13-year-old victim walked out of the courthouse with an attorney.

“The right thing is to do a direct file and file this case in the adult system which is where it belongs,” the attorney said. “The young man took a gun to school. A woman took her children and put them on the bus expecting them to get to school safely.”

Guzman DeJesus’ younger sister was also on that bus.

Their mother, Ady DeJesus, said she’s relying on her friends and family to get through the holiday without the girl she called her best friend.

“I just believe god knows what he’s doing,” DeJesus said. “It’s getting my family upset. I just want this to finish that’s all.”